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WORLD> America
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Immigration raids US plant seeking illegal workers
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-26 09:50 LAUREL, Mississippi -- Federal immigration agents said they rounded up 350 suspected undocumented workers in a raid on a Mississippi electrical equipment plant Monday, after sealing all entrances and questioning employees. Barbara Gonzalez, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, confirmed the raid at Howard Industries Inc. of Laurel. Suspected illegal workers were loaded into white vans with shaded windows and driven away. Gonzalez wouldn't say where the workers were headed other than to say they were being taken to a holding facility. "This is ... part of an ongoing ICE investigation that has revealed that illegal aliens are employed at Howard Industries," Gonzalez said. She said agents were acting on a tip from a union worker and were still interviewing plant employees late Monday. The raid was executed based on "evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant for individuals illegally in the United States," ICE said in a statement. Agents were talking with all workers at the sprawling plant to determine their residency status, said agency spokesman Brandon Montgomery. A statement on the Web site of the Laurel Leader Call newspaper, attributed to Howard Industries, said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs." "It is company policy that it hires only US citizens and legal immigrants," the statement said. Chief Executive Officer Billy Howard did not respond to a message left by The Associated Press. |
